Frontline
by The Diablo Squid
Summary: Follow the lives of American Rangers, Tank crews, and pilots as they fight to protect their country and end the threat of the Global Liberation Army. Discontinued


Frontline

The Diablo Squid

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Iraqi War Zone

Operation: Final Justice

"Raptors on station. Skies are clear."

Three F-22 Raptors flew across the desert, their engines leaving shimmering fumes of exhaust in the afternoon air as they streaked over a bustling American base on the outskirts of Baghdad. A large group of GLA scorpion tanks had been sighted ten minutes ago, heading toward the American base. Although there was an entire company of American Crusader tanks defending the area, three F-22's had been ordered in to provide close air support for the American tank crews. The lead Raptor, flown by Lieutenant Michael Hawks, descended in altitude as he sighted the GLA tanks in the distance. Far below, Crusader tanks were lining up on the outskirts of the base, ready to deliver a deadly volley of fire when ordered.

"Targets acquired. Prep missiles for launch," Hawks said into his comm. His two wingmen gave him re-assuring affirmatives as they banked left and leveled out, preparing to open fire…

Just as Hawks crested a small hill and locked onto a cluster GLA Tanks, an incessant beeping noise began to sound. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Hawks realized that his electronic countermeasures were picking up a missile that was headed for him…

"Radar lock! Break, break!" Hawks screamed into his helmet mike, as his wingmen broke their flight pattern to avoid the missile. Hawks desperately tried to pull up in order to avoid the incoming projectile-

There was a loud explosion as the F-22 Raptor was completely destroyed by the GLA missile. The two remaining Raptors frantically circled the area, their pilots watching as bits of debris fell to earth.

"Hawks down! Anybody see a chute?"

"Negative! No chute!"

Another missile streaked out from a concealed GLA stinger site, barely missing one of the American fighter jets piloted by Second Lieutenant Martin.

"Gah! Little bastards!" Martin yelped, as he did a series of complex maneuvers and dives to avoid another missile. The last Raptor, flown by Lieutenant Rogers, rolled into view and opened fire on the GLA position with machine gun fire and missiles. The GLA soldiers in the Stinger Nest frantically tried to evacuate before the missiles impacted, but they had no luck. The GLA position went up in flames.

"Hah! Got 'em!" Rogers said triumphantly, as Martin formed up on his right wing.

As the Raptors flew back to base, the tank battle far below was just unfolding. Jake Hodges, commander of Echo Company, wiped sweat from the bridge of his nose as he gazed at the ragged GLA battle line that was forming directly in front of him. His crew was busy prepping fire coordinates and loading the main gun, ready for the battle that was sure to occur.

"Ok men, concentrate your fire and pick your targets wisely," Hodges said calmly, ignoring the chatter of his men over the radio as they prepared to fire at the GLA. Hodges quickly scanned his flanks to make sure that friendly support was backing him up before he ordered the attack to begin. Satisfied, Hodges closed the hatch to his tank and spoke into his intercom: "Echo Company, engage!"

Explosions erupted in the GLA lines as Echo Company opened fire, the lethal American tanks and their crews easily outgunning the enemy. Enemy Scorpion tanks returned fire, but the superior armor of the Crusader tanks protected the crews from harm. Another volley of fire from the American lines left several more GLA tanks little more than burning wrecks in the desert.

Using the Crusader tank's advanced Thermal Imaging System, Hodges spotted an enemy tank that was dug in behind a sand ridge. Sighting the target with a laser pin-pointer, he transferred the coordinates of the enemy to his gunner, Sergeant O'Malley. Swiveling the turret to meet the new threat, Sergeant O'Malley adjusted the firing angle and opened fire, causing the Crusader tank to shake slightly from the force of the shot. Hodges was satisfied to see the GLA tank go up in flames, and he quickly began to look for another one, before realizing that there were none left. The remaining GLA tanks were retreating, heading back to the city of Baghdad. A tired cheer rose up from the company as they realized they had defeated their foe. Hodges turned on his intercom, grinning to himself.

"Good job men, now return to base."

…

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Siege of Baghdad

Day 3

"So Sarge, what's our objective today?"

The Chinook helicopter flew swiftly across the desert, carrying eight U.S. Rangers toward their target destination. Sergeant Davis glared at the man who had spoken, Private Jimmy Janowsky.

"You know damn well what our objective is," the Sarge growled, "And if you keep being a wise guy, you can stay behind at the base on our next mission."

Private Janowsky chuckled. "Sounds good to me, Sarge. I'd rather be on mess duty than attack an enemy position with you any day.

The invasion of Baghdad had commenced in earnest, with United States armored divisions and infantry pouring into the city. However, GLA resistance was heavy, and the advance had stalled, due to a large apartment building near the middle of the city which was garrisoned by GLA RPG soldiers and Rebels. American Infantry and tanks were having a tough time dislodging the GLA from their stronghold, so naturally, the Army put its best men on the job.

The United States Army Rangers.

As the Chinook descended toward the city, smoke rose up from the ruined buildings. Shots and explosions were heard in the distance, and the Chinook began to shake wildly.

"Lots of anti-aircraft fire over the LZ," The pilot shouted. "We're coming in hot! Hang on!"

The Chinook broke left, barely avoiding an RPG launched from a large steel building. Straightening out its flight, the Chinook leveled off and continued its progress toward the objective. Several RPG's were fired from the apartment building, but the pilot kept his cool and took the Rangers safely to the top of the building.

"Have fun boys!" The pilot shouted, as the Rangers began rappelling down onto the rooftop. Sergeant Davis was the last one out; by the time he had landed, the rest of the men were securing the rooftop and preparing to blow open the door to the inside of the building.

M-16's ready, the Rangers covered Private Janowsky as he kicked open the door. Immediately, two GLA Rebels burst out, screaming incoherently. Instinctively, every Ranger in the squad opened fire, cutting down the enemy.

"That was too close for comfort," Sergeant Davis muttered, reloading his M-16. "Ok boys, you know the drill, we'll flash bang them until they see stars, then we rush in and give 'em hell. Janowsky, you watch our backs; Evans, check for any bombs or demo traps those bastards may have planted. Everyone else, rifles at the ready." Taking out flash bang grenades, Sergeant Davis and two other Rangers threw them into the open door, and then quickly flung themselves out of harm's way. There was a loud blast of noise, and a blinding ray of light.

"Don't just stand there, move your assess!" Sergeant Davis yelled, pushing the lead Ranger in. The rest of them quickly followed.

As the Rangers burst into the room, the occupants were still recovering from the flash bang attacks. Opening fire, the Rangers sprayed the room until nothing moved.

"Ok," Davis yelled, "Janowsky and Evans with me! The rest of you, take the left door and clear out any enemy soldiers you see!"

"Yes Sir!" The Rangers yelled, as they went to their assigned positions. Janowsky and Evans formed up behind Davis.

"Ok, you two cover my ass when I go through this door and we'll all be just fine," Davis said, as he kicked open the right door, and fired his M-16 into the room. There were several blinding bursts of light as the terrorists fired back and the Rangers responded; chunks of wood flew off the door as it was destroyed by the incoming fire.

"Get cover, there's too much fire!" Davis yelled, as Janowsky and Evans dived away from the door entrance. Pulling out a flash bang, Davis chucked it into the room before hitting the floor. There was a loud explosion, and Janowsky rushed in with his assault rifle blazing. Evans and Davis quickly followed him in, making sure he hadn't missed anyone.

"Good work boys," Davis said, satisfied that every one of the GLA terrorists were dead. "Only a few more rooms to clear and we've got this in the bag."

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…

Commander Hodges watched through binoculars as several blinding explosions were seen in the windows of the apartment building.

"You think they're gonna be alright?" Sergeant O'Malley asked. Hodges shrugged.

"Course they are. Just worry about what happens when they clear that apartment. Then we'll be moving in across the bridge to clear out the GLA."

O'Malley dropped back into the tank, evidently waiting for the signal from Sergeant Davis and the Rangers. Hodges put down the binoculars and had pulled out a cigarette when suddenly O'Malley was back up again, looking frantic.

"The GLA have launched Scud missiles at the city filled with anthrax! High command has ordered us to pull out of this sector!" Hodges swore and fumbled with his cigarettes, dropping back into the tank and closing the hatch.

"Ok boys, let's get the hell out of here before we have our asses blown to kingdom come," Hodges said, as the tank driver began to maneuver the Crusader tank through the crowded streets. Frantic Marines and Infantry ran along side them, all trying to escape from the incoming missiles.

As the American divisions retreated from the area, flashes of light from the missiles streaked from the sky and flew down on the city. Bracing himself for the impact, Hodges was surprised to find that the missiles had missed the American troops completely; the missiles had all hit nearly five miles away… in a residential district…

Hodges felt something drop in his stomach as he realized the GLA had not targeted the American troops with the missiles, but the civilian populace instead. Immediately, sirens were heard as American medical crews raced to the scene to clean up the Anthrax and help any of the wounded.

His tank's radio crackled to life. "Echo Company! This is Sergeant Davis of the Rangers. We've cleared this damn apartment, you're clear to move!" Hodges shook himself out of his reverie and picked up the receiver.

"Affirmative Ranger Team, this is Commander Hodges. Good work, provide cover fire from the building while we cross the bridge. Echo Company is now moving in."

…

…

"What the hell do you mean that we don't have any air support!" Sergeant Davis yelled into his radio. The answer was shaky, and Davis could tell the connection was breaking up.

"All available fighter support… running missions… GLA convoys heading toward Baghdad…" The radio man on the other end managed to say through the static.

Davis closed off his radio before he could finish and pulled out his M-16. The building trembled from repeated blasts from RPG's and mortars. The American Crusader tanks were trying to cross a bridge that Davis's building overlooked, but the GLA bastards had blown up the lead tank, causing a massive jam on the bridge. Without warning, more GLA troops had attacked from behind the American tanks, and now it was all they could do to stop the situation from becoming a massacre. All of the Rangers were busy firing through the windows at the GLA on the ground, while the American tanks desperately tried to hold off the assaults.

"Sarge!" Janowsky cried, "If we don't do something about those mortars, this building is gonna collapse!"

Sergeant Davis grimly walked over to an unoccupied window and began firing. Over the chatter of his M-16, he managed to yell out, "We don't have a vantage point to take out those mortars, and all air support is unavailable. We're doing this alone!"

Private Rickart, the Radio man of the squad, called to Davis. "I'm getting orders from Commander Hodges of Echo Company. He's telling us to put some fire on the GLA scorpion tank near the building across from us!"

"What the hell does he think we're trying to do?" Davis yelled, as he cut down several GLA rebels who had foolishly wandered in his field of fire. The Ranger squad hadn't brought any anti-tank weapons, so they were horribly equipped to deal with enemy armor. Nevertheless, the Rangers poured M-16 fire on the Scorpion tank in the hopes of distracting its crew. The GLA vehicle immediately ceased firing on the Crusaders, instead turning its turret on the building that housed the Rangers.

"Oh, shit," Janowsky muttered.

There was a huge explosion as the shell blew up half of the building, sending the bodies of three unfortunate Rangers flying through the rubble. Sergeant Davis wasted no time recovering from the shell shock; hoisting the two nearest Rangers up to their feet, he waved his M-16 to rally the others. "Move up to the next floor! Go! Go! Go!"

The Rangers immediately scrambled up the staircase as another shall hit the building, sending dust falling from the ceiling.

Once on the top floor, Sergeant Davis did a headcount of the remaining Rangers. Five left, including himself. They were in some pretty deep trouble if help didn't arrive soon.

"Ok, keep your cool. This is what we were trained to do. Get to those windows and start putting fire on the GLA. Rickart, get on the radio and keep trying for support. Let's move!"

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…

A small cloud of dust rose up from the desert as a GLA convoy carrying reinforcements and supplies approached the beleaguered city of Baghdad. Unaware that two birds of prey were stalking them.

"This is Martin to base, enemy convoy has been spotted, permission to engage!"

"Permission granted Martin, watch out for anti-aircraft fire from RPG's and Quad cannons."

"Affirmative HQ, will do," Martin said calmly, prepping his missiles for launch. Rogers rolled to his right, protecting his flank. The squad felt incomplete without Hawks there with them, but now was not the time to reminisce: they had a job to do.

Without warning, the two Raptors screamed down from the sky, missiles firing and machine guns blazing. The GLA convoy tried to scatter as bullets rained down from the sky, only to have most of their vehicles disabled by the missiles fired from the Raptors. Roaring over the wreckage, the Raptors pulled up quickly as they picked up anti-aircraft fire.

"Hot damn!" yelled Rogers, as an RPG came particularly close to his Raptor. "One of these days my luck is going to run out."

Martin laughed as they prepared for another strafing run, but suddenly his radio crackled to life.

"Martin, Rogers, this is HQ. A company of Crusader tanks and Rangers have been pinned down in southeast Baghdad, near a large bridge, and are taking heavy casualties. Get over there and give them some covering fire!"

Martin pulled off the dive as Rogers formed up on his left wing, leaving the decimated GLA convoy in the distance. "What are the coordinates, HQ?"

The reply came back quickly. "Alpha-Charlie-Delta, Echo Company won't be able to last much longer without air support!"

"Understood!" Martin said. As the two Raptors neared the battle zone, they saw the carnage in the American forces as the GLA closed their cunningly devised trap. The Crusader Tanks had been trapped and surrounded by GLA forces, and there were several wreckages of destroyed Crusaders littering the area. Martin sighted his target while Rogers did the same.

"Ok Rogers, let's give these bastards hell," Martin said, as he began his attack. Diving steeply down, machine guns blazing, he fired his last missile at a GLA tank near a ruined apartment building. It, and several GLA troops crowding around it, were engulfed in a tornado of destruction. Martin could hear Rogers let out a whoop as his missiles destroyed an entire group of closely packed Technicals.

As the two Raptors flew away from the battle, Martin's radio crackled to life. "Thanks for the cover fire; we are now moving into the city." Far below, the GLA troops fled as their main attack force was destroyed. The remaining American Crusaders pushed onwards into the city, as several units of Marines and Assault troops were inserted at key points in the city via Chinooks.

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Hodges waited impatiently in his tank. For four days, his company had taken heavy casualties in the confines of the city. Tanks were just not meant to fight in such a claustrophobic battleground.

But now the GLA had been pushed out of the city and the American forces were poised to begin the attack on their base. However, a large group of enemy armor had stationed themselves up on a ridge guarding the base's approach.

Hodges scanned the enemy with his binoculars, just as he heard a roaring overhead. Without looking, Hodges began to mutter. "Five… four… three… two… one…"

An enormous B-52 plane flew over the enemy positions, dropping just one bomb. However, the entire target area was drenched with fuel deposited by the plane, creating a perfect place for the bomb to land.

There was a huge explosion as the Fuel Air Bomb detonated, the extra fuel creating a massive inferno that engulfed the entire enemy position. Not one of the GLA had survived.

"Echo Company, began attack!" Hodges ordered. Immediately, the Crusader Tanks churned up the hill, supported by Marines and Infantry who scrambled up the sandy ridge, sporting a variety of weapons.

With the GLA tank force destroyed, only infantry remained. Several Rebels popped up on the ridge, laying down fire on the American soldiers with antiquated Thompson submachine guns, but the luckier ones had AK-47's. The American troops halted their progress and returned fire, the superior weapons and training of the Americans overcoming the scant resistance.

As Echo Company emerged from the hill, the entire GLA base was shown. Frantic troops were packing into Technicals, trying to abandon their base before it was destroyed. Too late.

"Hot damn, they've got an entire operation running here," O'Malley muttered, as he aimed for a group of GLA soldiers clustered near a Technical. His shot destroyed the technical and sent the GLA running for their lives. The Crusader Tanks hung back and gave covering fire to the U.S. soldiers, who were only too happy to lay into the GLA with automatic fire and rifle-launched grenades.

Within minutes, the entire GLA base had been leveled, with dozens of GLA surrendering to the Americans. A group of Raptors flew over the scene, only to find that all of the enemy had been annihilated. Disappointed, they flew back to base. Hodges watched them go, their exhaust engines leaving fumes in the air.

"Sorry boys," he muttered. "You were a bit late."

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I hoped you liked the first chapter. Please read and review! I can't really say when the next chapter will up, but hopefully it will be soon.


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